Various medical practices include inserting a catheter into and below the skin of the patient. If proper care is not taken microorganisms result at the operative site. For example, common bacteria associated with peritoneal catheters include staph aureus, pseudomonas aeruginosa and staph epidermidis. Airborne bacterial such as acinetobacter might also be at the site. It would be desirable if some form of infection control device could be provided in conjunction with the catheter to minimize dangers resulting from such microorganisms.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,632,852 discloses an ion generator as part of a connect/disconnect device for plastic tubes. As disclosed therein when plastic tubes are melted in a connect or disconnect procedure aerosol particles are formed. The aerosol particles are confined or contained by providing an ion generator which imparts an electrical charge to the particles. The charged particles are then collected by a collector plate within the device.